Considerable grumbling greeted the return of Town Manager John Klimm and some nine acolytes from a recent flight to Florida where they attended an All-America City conference.

A strain of locals paying high residential real estate taxes wondered why the town would expend its assets of time, manpower and money on such a seemingly useless trip – junket, some would call it – since the town was not participating in the competition.

Critics wondered why various city councilors were not informed prior to the flight south and why, upon his return, the town manager said he’d explain the benefits of the conference in his next state of the town address...which was and still is a long way off…like next year.

To his credit, the manager evidently felt the deprecatory tremors required an anodyne and responded at his first public opportunity - the most recent but sparsely attended town council meeting on July 17.

Klimm took the opportunity to notify the council in public and on television and way ahead of time that he plans to recommend another contingent attend next year’s conference, a 60th anniversary affair ripe with enlightening conferences and workshops. The early notice was a good move on his part because it pre-empts critics in the sense that, as at a wedding, objectors are urged to verbalize their protestations prior to the event or forever (wash their hands first) hold their tongue.

With advanced notice now in the record books, critics of these outings can register objections, if they choose, with their councilor or the corner office prior to the fact – but they can’t complain after the fact, can they?

Klimm also announced, as a result of attending the conference en masse, that Lynne Poyant, director of community services, who he described as 'on the humble side,' received 'a significant honor' in being asked to 'contribute' written articles on some of her town initiatives for the National Civic League’s national publication. Congratulations.

And rather than wait for his state of the town address, Klimm also responded to faultfinders by touching on programs the town representatives were introduced to at the Florida confab.

He mentioned a 'creative' Arizona model that uses public/private partnerships to build athletic fields, a California program promoting intergenerational activities, a Connecticut farmer’s market specifically for low-income neighborhoods and a Missouri program that attempts to get chambers of commerce and groups such as Barnstable’s civic associations working – traditionally on different sides of the aisle - closer together.

Klimm explained also that he hasn’t used most of his contracted trips to various national organizations of which there are three – an international city and county management association for municipal workers, a national league of cities for elected officials and the National Civic League (All America City) whose primary goal, he said, is civic engagement.

Klimm said his contract allows six trips a year to these conferences and he said in eight years he has only attended 10 or 12 instead of 48 allowed in that time span.

The town manager also addressed another observation from some quarters that he hasn’t been mixing with the community. He told councilors he and his assistant, Tom Lynch, are 'regularly out in the community' at civic association meetings and cookouts this summer, July 4 activities and the waterfront music festivals. While he didn’t mention it, he and Lynch were also spotted earlier this season collecting rubbish along Sea Street during a neighborhood clean-up day.

He blew some smoke at the councilors who are still smarting from their ZBA gaffe by noting the pace of economic development going on in town despite 'a nation in recession.' He said it never ceases to amaze him how property owners are ready to invest here because of actions 'by the council on zoning changes.'

But he mentioned again that private business money helps fund these trips, replacing a burr under the saddle of the split-tax crowd who see that in the same light as a congressman riding a suspect quid pro quo business jet to a golf game.

In a way, Klimm’s panoply of good news had the ring of a manager facing his first evaluation in five years and/or, to be on the safe side, that of a candidate campaigning for mayor.